


Two is Amazing, But Three Can Be Even Better

by fannyvonfabulus



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bathing/Washing, D/s, Dom Phil Coulson, Dom Steve Rogers, Dom!Steve, Dom/sub, Hand Feeding, M/M, OT3, Other, Sub Clint Barton, Threesome - M/M/M, actually Steve is an Alpha Dom, bond verse, dom!Phil, i honestly don't know how to tag this, i told you i didn't know how to tag this, if there even is such a thing, sorta - Freeform, sub!clint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-22
Updated: 2014-03-22
Packaged: 2018-01-16 15:24:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1352338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fannyvonfabulus/pseuds/fannyvonfabulus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phil and Clint were a bonded D/s couple when The Battle of New York happened.</p><p>Clint turned to Steve, his team leader and an Alpha Dom for what he needed.  </p><p>Turns out that Phil wasn't dead after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two is Amazing, But Three Can Be Even Better

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this is my first attempt at Steve/Phil/Clint as well as my first attempt at a D/s fic. I blame this entire on all the pictures from the Cap 2 premiere. Y’know the ones I mean.
> 
> Firstly, let me apologise for anything that maybe wrong with it. I have little personal experience of the D/s world so most of what you read here is mostly from what I’ve learnt from reading D/s fics. I would also like to apologise for the fact that not only is this a D/s fics, it’s also some weird Bond!verse fic as well. I have absolutely no idea how that happened, it just did. It seemed to fit for some reason. It bares no relation to the A/O/B verse whatsoever. What I’m trying to convey is that there are some Doms that out-Dom all others. So in this case, Steve is an Alpha Dom, meaning that between him and Phil, Steve is the top of the food chain. I know it makes no sense at all but fuck it, it’s my fic and write whatever I want.
> 
> Oh, flashbacks are in italics, in case you were wondering.
> 
> I may also have vomited a hella load feels all over this fic. I hadn’t intended to at all. This is why you shouldn’t write shit like this when you’re having a bad couple of days emotionally. Please do let me know what you think as I have a 4-part D/s planned involving Clint/Coulson and Steve/Tony. If this one is no good, then I’ll abandon plans for the series. I welcome any and all advice, critique and pointers. I would also like to know what you didn’t like about this one so that I can do better next time.
> 
> I may possibly write a sequel to this depending on whether or not people want to read more.
> 
> Beta'd by me so all mistakes are my own.

 

 Clint is nervous.

And kind of excited too.

He’s nervous because he fucking hates social situations like this.  Too many people he doesn’t know, not enough sightlines to the exits and on top of that, he has to wear a suit.  He hates suits.  He knows he looks damn good in a suit, especially this one seeing as it’s been custom fitted to his body thanks to Tony’s tailor.  Still doesn’t detract from the fact that he _hates_ wearing suits.  But Phil had told him that he had to so he is, because he’s a good boy for his Dom.  

He’s excited because Phil has promised him all sorts of wonderfully dirty things if he behaves and wears Phil’s favourite suit.  So he’s going to do as he’s told and wear the fucking suit whilst trying not to pout like a petulant child.

The nerves and excitement mingle together when he thinks about the fact that this is the first time Steve and Phil are going to be in the same room together with him since Phil came back from the dead.  With one thing or another over the past few weeks, the three of them haven’t been in the same place at the same time.  Steve has been in Washington with Sam and Fury for the past 2 weeks and Phil has been swamped with paperwork thanks to not being cleared for field action yet.  Tonight is the first time that Phil will meet Steve when there isn’t imminent danger from the God of Mischief and his alien army so they’ll actually get to talk to each other and it’s putting Clint on edge.  He doesn’t want the two Dom’s to face off against each other in front of all these people.  Not that they would, he thinks.  Phil is a stickler for manners and Steve is....Well, Steve is _Steve_.  So no, they wouldn’t cause a scene somewhere so public, Clint _knows_ that. 

He just doesn’t want them fighting at all.

The past months have been the most turbulent and confusing that Clint has ever been through.  Before New York, he had _finally_ been happy.  With all the shit that life has thrown at him, he had finally felt like he belonged somewhere, belonged to someone.  He’d known that he was Phil’s as soon as he’d met the man all those years ago.  He remembers the urge he had to immediately drop to his knees for the agent the very first moment he’d seen him.  It had both terrified and pleased him at the same time.  The pull of the bond between them had been so strong, even then.  He’d watched as Phil’s pupils had dilated when he’d looked at Clint, how his shoulders had squared and how a predatory smirk had pulled at the corners of his mouth.  He’d known in that instant who he was put on the planet to please.

And then New York happened and Phil had been taken from him.  Even under Loki’s control, he had felt as though his heart had been ripped out of his chest the moment that Phil had been stabbed with the spear.  Even through the mind control, the bond managed to tell Clint that something had just gone horribly and irreversibly wrong.

But the pain and the emptiness had disappeared within hours of that moment and that had sent Clint into a spiral of confusion and guilt.  If Phil had died, why didn’t he feel like he was missing a limb?  What was wrong with him?  Had Loki taken away his ability to feel?  He had gone through the following weeks in a daze, like he was caught in some sort of weird limbo.  He had supposed that it was the natural state for a Sub who had lost their bonded Dom. 

But something had just felt..... _wrong_.

He’d sought out Steve one day when the feeling that something wasn’t right threatened to tip Clint over the edge.  Normally he would have gone to Natasha but he needed someone bigger than him that day.  Plus, Steve was the only sub-less Dom in the tower.  Clint had needed something, _anything_ , to stop him feeling like he was about to pass out or vomit or just lie down on the floor and die.  He had felt as though he was falling and flying at the same time.  Everything had felt so wrong, so confusing and he needed grounding.  Phil would put him down when he was like that; make him kneel at his feet while he pressed Clint’s cheek against his hip until he felt together enough for Phil to flog him until he broke.  Then Phil would put him back together again with tender kisses and touches while he fucked Clint through his tears, whispering his love into his archer’s skin.  Afterwards, Phil would bathe him, telling what a good boy he was all the while, before putting him to bed and curling protectively around his sub while he slept.

He’d gone looking for Steve because he’d needed grounding, something that only a Dom could do.  Steve was his team leader and in Clint’s mind, that meant _safe_.  Steve would never hurt him; never do anything he didn’t want.  And at that point, he’d just wanted to be held.

\---------

_“Clint?” Steve asked as the archer had stumbled into the communal kitchen looking wild eyed and lost._

_“Something’s wrong.  Something.....it’s not right but I can’t....I don’t.....,” Clint mumbled, more to himself than anyone else Steve thought.  When the smaller blond had spotted the larger, he made a beeline for him.  Steve only just managed to catch Clint when he fell forwards, desperate to take the last few steps towards his Captain as fast as he could.  Steve wrapped his arms protectively around the smaller of them when Clint clung to the front of his t-shirt and buried his face in the soft cotton.  Clint didn’t say anything else, just tried to slow his breathing as he let Steve’s scent fill his senses.  He smelt strong, safe, like he could block the whole world out if Clint asked him to._

_“Clint?” Steve asked eventually, worried for his team mate.  “Everything OK?”_

_The answer was muffled against his chest but the tenseness that he sensed in Clint’s shoulders at the question let Steve know that no, everything was_ not _OK.  He knew that Phil had been Clint’s bonded Dom and that the archer had been struggling: what Sub wouldn’t?  Steve had wanted to help but he hadn’t known how to offer.  Now he had Clint clinging to him so he just held onto him, offering silent comfort.  It seemed to work and before long, Clint’s breathing had evened out and the tension in his shoulders eased a little._

_“Want to talk about it?” Steve asked long moments later, smoothing a hand down Clint’s back in what he hoped was a soothing motion.  Clint shook his head against Steve’s chest and he didn’t push.  Had it been Bucky, he would have demanded an answer.  But Clint wasn’t Bucky or his Sub so he didn’t push.  Clint belonged to someone else, even though that someone else was dead.  It wasn’t his place to order someone else’s Sub around or demand things from them.  “OK, well.... how about we go over to the couch instead?”_

_Clint just nodded so Steve bustled him over to the couch in the communal living room.  He sat down and arranged Clint against him, an arm around his shoulders, and the archer curled into his Captain’s side, still clinging but a little calmer.  JARVIS silently turned on the television to a painting programme that he knew Steve often watched and with a hand running gently through Clint’s hair, the super solider settled in for as long as Clint needed him._

_It went on like that a few times a week.  Steve never asked questions and Clint never offered any answers when the archer came to him silently asking to be held.  It soon became a routine and Steve never turned Clint away, couldn’t turn Clint away.  He missed Bucky with a force that made his chest ache and his head hurt.  It had been 70 years for everyone else but for Steve, it had only been a matter of months since he’d watched his bonded Sub fall from that train into the swirling snow.  He would wake in the middle of the night from nightmares of Bucky’s wide, terrified eyes and a blinding whiteness.  Getting to hold Clint, even though he wasn’t Steve’s, helped to slap a patch over the ache for a while.  He had a Sub to look after for as long as Clint was in his arms and it made him feel useful, needed._

_And he’d be there for as long as Clint needed him to be._

\----------

“Stop fidgeting,” Phil’s voice comes from behind him and Clint grins at the sound.  He turns to see his Dom looking as beautiful as ever in one of his best suits.  It’s one of Clint’s favourites because it’s the perfect shade of blue to make Phil’s eyes look like the colour of the sky on a summer’s day.  The lining is a rich purple, as are most of the insides of Phil’s suits.  It’s Clint’s favourite colour and Phil likes to wear something purple every day purely for that reason.

“I’m not fidgeting,” Clint pouts, looking through his lashes at Phil as he brings his hands up to smooth out the loose collar of his Dom’s shirt.  Phil has chosen not to wear a tie tonight, an odd move for someone who is usually so proper about such things.

“Yes, you are,” Phil lifts his chin a little, indulging Clint’s need to fiddle with his dress shirt.  “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were nervous.  And you are, just not your usual nervous when you’re at these things.  What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Clint...” Phil slips some authority into his voice.  He doesn’t like it when his Sub is on edge and he seems more skittish than he usually is at a big event like this. 

“Have you seen Stev....Captain Rogers yet?” Clint suddenly blurts.

“You don’t have to call him that in front of me,” Phil chuckles.  “You know him as Steve so call him Steve. And no, I haven’t yet.”

“I’m just excited for you to finally meet him,” Clint mumbles, looking down at the skin exposed by Phil’s open collar.  “I know what a fanboy you are.”

“That’s not it,” Phil decides, looking at Clint and knowing full well that he’s not being told the whole truth.  “We’ll talk about this later.”

Clint looks guilty but doesn’t have time to dwell because Steve is striding over with that smile of his.  Clint can’t help grinning back at him and is soon enveloped in a hug.  Not many people know that Cap is hugger.  In fact, Steve is very tactile, more so than even Tony.  Clint wonders if it’s something to do with being from an age where it wasn’t the done thing to be openly touchy-feely in public, even with your Sub.  And now that Steve is suddenly 70 years in the future, being tactile is allowed so he doesn’t hesitate to hug or pat people on the back.  Clint’s found that he likes it, likes that Steve isn’t afraid to let people know he cares through touch.  Even Natasha secretly likes it and Clint has seen the Switch leaning into Steve’s hugs when she thinks that no-one is looking.

“Hey Cap,” Clint smiles when he pulls back from the hug a little and Steve leaves his hand on the archer’s shoulder. 

“Clint,” Steve smiles back softly before turning to face Phil and offering his hand to shake. “You must be Phil.  It’s pleasure to finally meet you sir.  Clint has told me all about you.”

“Only good things I hope,” Phil smiles back and shakes Steve’s hand, surprised that the Captain doesn’t try and assert his dominance over him.  Phil has read the file; he knows that Steve is an Alpha Dom.  But the man in front of him now is nothing but polite.  He’s not giving off any Alpha vibes and he seems to have calmness about him.

“Steve has been taking care of me while you’ve been d...dead,” Clint suddenly stutters and there’s a faint blush starting to bloom high on his cheeks.  He doesn’t know why he said that because he’s already told Phil.  In fact, it was one of the first things that Phil had asked when he came back from the dead; who had been taking care of Clint while he’d been gone. 

“And I will be eternally thankful for that,” Phil adds, his smile softening as he looks at Clint then at Steve.

“I was happy to,” Steve’s smile widens and he slides his hand from Clint’s shoulder to the back of his neck for reassurance.  Then he realises what he’s done and quickly takes his hand away.  Clint isn’t his Sub and he’s just used an act of dominance on Phil’s Sub right in front of him.  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Captain... _Steve_ ,” Phil says, his voice calm as he looks at how flustered Steve is getting, which in turn is making Clint look like he’s ready to find the nearest exit.  “It’s fine, really.  You’ve been taking care of Clint so it’s natural that you want to reassure him.  It’s not a problem.”

And it’s not.  Phil thinks that he should be angry about it but he’s really not.  Alpha Dom aside, Steve is Captain America and leader of the Avengers and Clint is his team mate so it’s only natural that he would want to put the archer at ease.  Plus, for reasons that he’s not going to look too deeply at right now, seeing another Dom be like that with his Sub is..... _doing_ things to him.  If it was anyone other than Steve, his childhood hero and secret crush through his teenage years, then he would probably be feeling _very_ differently.  The fact that Steve has clearly taken such good care of Clint while he was gone is frankly a relief.  While he was locked away at a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. base to recover, he’d fretted endlessly about who was going to take care of Clint.  He knew that the archer would be blaming himself for New York and he knew how Clint got after missions that went FUBAR.  Natasha would only be able to do so much for him.  What he needed was a firm hand but a soft touch.  Natasha could be the firm hand but she wasn’t always able to offer the soft touch that Clint would need. 

So Phil is glad it had been Steve that Clint had sought out when he needed a Dom’s touch and reassurance.  He didn’t consider it cheating; how could he when Clint had thought he was dead?  It was one thing he had always been clear about: if Phil died then Clint shouldn’t feel like he couldn’t go to a Dom he trusted when he needed it. 

\----------

_Steve ran his fingers through Clint filthy hair where his head rested against the inside of his thigh.  The archer was knelt on the floor between Steve’s spread legs as the super soldier read.  The only sounds in the room came from the soft sounds of pages of Steve’s book occasionally being turned and Clint’s now steady breathing.  It had taken a couple of hours to calm Clint to that point and Steve was happy to continue for as long as the shorter of the two needed._

_It had been a bad mission and one that had resulted in the death of two agents.  Clint had barely made it out and after debriefing had stumbled onto Steve’s floor shaking and glassy eyed.  Clint had always taken the deaths of anyone during a mission badly, especially since New York, but this was the first time that Phil hadn’t been there.  No Phil on the end of the comms handling the mission.  No Phil to quietly and firmly take Clint apart at home afterwards. No Phi at all._

_So Clint had gone looking for Steve.  Steve who had been happy to hold him when he’d needed it since Phil had died.  Steve who was a solid, silent comfort when Clint woke from nightmares filled with blue.  Steve who needed someone to hold as much as Clint needed to be held._

_But this was different.  They hadn’t done this yet and Clint wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do, to go looking for the super soldier.  But his subconscious had taken over and Steve had pulled him into his arms, no questions asked, and who silently made him kneel between his legs, taking control so that Clint could let go._

_“Clint?” Steve asked softly when the archer sighed softly into the soft cotton of the blond’s sweats.  “Are you hungry?”_

_“Mmm...,” Clint answered happily._

_Steve gently nudged him away from his leg so that he could stand and pad over to the kitchen.  Clint stayed where he was but sat back on his heels and bowed his head.  Steve cut little slices of apple and orange to put on a plate before he made some simple ham and cheese sandwiches that he cut into bite size morsels.  He poured a large glass of the tropical fruit juice that he knew Clint favoured before trimming the crusts off the sandwich pieces because he knew that Clint wouldn’t eat them._

_Once he was seated on the couch again, plate perched on the arm next to his book, Steve tugged Clint’s hair gently to get the archer to rest his head against his knee again.  He went willingly and Steve got back to his book.  Every so often, he fed Clint little slices of fruit and bite size pieces of sandwich, each one delicately taken from his fingers.  Clint silently asked for the fruit juice every now and then with his eyes and Steve gently tipped the glass towards his lips when he did.  When all the food is gone and the glass empty, Clint sighed happily, his eyes sliding shut, and went back to resting his cheek against the inside of Steve’s knee.  They stayed like that for what feels like hours until Steve grew worried that Clint would start to get stiff from all his bumps and bruises after the mission._

_“Clint.  Would you let me bathe you?” Steve asked eventually, in a low, gentle tone that was every inch Steve Rogers the Dom and not Captain America.  Clint moved his head enough so that he could look up at Steve through sleepy eyes and a question lingered there in the blue-green.  “I know we haven’t done anything like this before but I’d like to take care of you, if you’ll let me.”_

_Clint stared hazily up at him for a few moments, a sadness in his eyes that made Steve’s heart clench.  Perhaps he’d overstepped the mark and what he was asking for was something that Clint used to do with Phil, something that was just for them._

_“I’d like that,” Clint said eventually, a lazy smile tugging at his lips.  Steve had smiled back and coaxed Clint to his feet so that he could lead him to the bathroom.  He stripped the archer slowly as the bath filled, his touch soft but determined. It hadn’t been about sex, more reassurance than anything else.  When the bathroom was full of scent of the expensive bath oils that Tony insisted on filling everyone’s bathroom with, Steve guided Clint to the tub and helped him get in, mindful of the scratches and bruises that peppered his skin.  Clint sighed as he slid into the water, submerging himself for moment before surfacing, hair in his eyes and grinning lazily at Steve._

_“You gettin’ in too?” Clint asked sounding a little unsure.  They hadn’t done the whole bathing thing before so he was in unfamiliar territory._

_“Not this time,” Steve had smiled softly and situated himself on his knees behind Clint’s head so that he could massage shampoo into Clint’s filthy hair.  Clint seemed happy with that answer and had just let Steve wash his hair, and then his entire body, slipping slowly into his own headspace as the super soldier worked the knots from his muscles._

_As Steve tended to Clint, he thought back to when he and Bucky had shared a bath in a decadent hotel in France once.  They’d never had the chance to have a truly decent bath, even before the war.  The water had always had to be heated over the fire in the living room so both of them getting to soak in the hot water together had been amazing.  They’d still been getting used to the fact that Steve was no longer twice as small as his Sub but they’d made it work. Taking care of Clint always brought back memories of Bucky but it also helped him deal with those memories and the fact that his Sub was gone._

_He had started to hope that perhaps Clint could be his but he knew he was just a stand-in until Clint found a new Dom.  It was never the same with new partner after being bonded to someone else.  Bonding only happened once but people could be happy with someone else._

_He just hoped that Clint could be happy with him._

_\----------_

“Can we leave yet?” Clint whines a little as the night barrels on.  He watches as Tony spins Pepper around the dancefloor, the gold of her dress catching the lights of the ballroom.

“Soon,” Phil assures him, a hand resting on the small of his Sub’s back.  “Be a good boy until then.”

“Fine,” Clint huffs and Phil chuckles at the pout his archer gives him.

“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” Steve’s voice drifts in towards the couple and Cap joins them as they watch Tony and Pepper.

“They are,” Phil agrees as he sees Pepper throw her elegant neck back and laugh at whatever Tony has just murmured to her.  He’s been thinking about things during the party and he makes a decision.  “Almost as beautiful as you and Clint together.”

“I’m sorry?” Steve chokes a little, eyes wide as they stare at Phil.  Clint nearly breaks his neck as he whips his head around to gape open mouthed at his Dom.

“What I’m saying is that if you wanted to ask Clint to dance, I don’t mind,” Phil answers with a smile.  For all that Steve is an Alpha Dom, at the moment he looks more like a deer caught in the headlights and adorably young.  Steve looks between Phil and Clint, completely unsure of what to do.  Phil gives him a nod and an easy smile.  It’s not forced, Steve can tell, which lets him know that Phil means it.

“Clint, would you like to dance?” Steve asks when he turns his attention to Clint.  The Sub turns an unsure look at his Dom but Phil just gives him a gentle push towards Steve with the hand that he has in the small of Clint’s back and the archer takes a step towards the super soldier.

“Love to,” Clint grins up at him and takes Steve’s hand to drag him towards the dance floor.  There are a few disapproving mutters from onlookers when they see a Sub dragging a Dom around but then Clint never has been one to conform.  He’s had to act like a Dom for most of his life in order to just survive.  It wasn’t until he met Phil that he felt safe enough to fully slip into a truly submissive role and sometimes it’s a hard habit to break.  Once he has Steve on the dance floor though, he lets him lead and the bigger of them both is soon gliding them both around the floor with a grace that someone of Steve’s size shouldn’t usually possess.

“Looking good Capsicle,” Tony says as they pass by him and Pepper.  “Bet you’re glad I showed you some moves now, huh?”

“Yes Tony, so glad.  How can I ever repay you?” Steve sasses back and Tony roars with laughter. 

Clint is glad that the pair of them have become the best of friends.  Tony had been instantly on the defensive when he’d met Steve.  Suddenly there was an Alpha Dom in his world and it had pissed him off royally.  Add to that the history that Steve had with Howard at it was a recipe for disaster.  They’d put their differences aside during the Battle of New York but it had been what happened afterwards that had been the most testing.  Steve had wanted to badly to help Tony deal with his PTSD but hadn’t had the chance when the genius had taken Pepper and gone to Malibu.  Then Extremis happened and everything that had entailed and Steve had been beside himself.  He had considered Tony his team mates even then and he just wanted to help.

It had been an uneasy truce when Tony and Pepper had returned to New York.  When Tony realised that Steve was never going to give up trying to help, he’s moved the super solider into the tower.  Not only that, but he’d moved them all in, each with their own floor.  Tony found, to his surprise, that he suddenly had a family of sorts.  And he loved it.  All thoughts of who was the Alpha Dom had gone out of the window and Steve had become his best friend.  Despite the fact that one is futurist and the other is just a skinny kid from a Brooklyn 70 years in the past, it worked.  It really worked.

“So....,” Steve says as he guides Clint around the floor.

“So,” Clint grins back.

“Phil is pretty swell,” Steve says and then kicks himself for using such an old fashioned word.

“Yeah, he’s pretty swell,” Clint answers but there’s no hint of jest.  He actually finds it adorably endearing whenever Steve slips and uses words from his era.  It also makes him a little sad as it reminds him that Steve must still be hurting.  Even though it’s been months and months since he was thawed, Clint knows how much Steve must still be struggling to adjust.  It was one of the reasons he was so glad when Tony threw aside any plans to try and ‘out Dom’ Steve and took him under his wing instead.  He did everything with such enthusiasm that it was hard not to get swept along with him.  But Clint knew that deep down, Steve was still mourning all those he’d left behind.  It had been 70 years for the rest of world but to Steve, it was only yesterday.

“You two should hang out some time,” Clint says, looking up into Steve’s blue eyes.  “He can gush about how much of a fan he is and you can tell him if everything he’s read about you since he was a foetus is true.”

“I’d like that actually,” Steve can’t help smiling at the hint of mischief in Clint’s blue-green eyes.  “Plus, he’s your bonded and part of the team so it would be good to get to know him.”

“I’ll tell him you said that,” Clint’s grin widens.  “Bet it makes him blush.”

“Pretty sure that Level 8 S.H.I.E.L.D. agents don’t blush,” Steve laughs.

“Depends,” Clint replies, cocking his head to one side and getting a look in his eyes that sends a shiver up Steve’s spine.

“On what?”

“On whether you mean get to know him or.....get to _know_ him.”

“Clint, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Steve says, brow furrowing a little.

“You heard what Phil said,” Clint says simply.  “And if I know my Dom, which I do, then I think I know what he’s thinking about. C’mon...”

At that, Clint slides his fingers around Steve’s wrist and drags him off to where Phil is standin sipping champagne.  Clint situates himself straight into Phil’s space, sliding under an arm and slotting himself against his Dom.  Phil smiles indulgently at him and Steve isn’t really sure about what to do with himself.

“How did we look?” Clint purrs against Phil’s neck as he makes a show of being as submissive as he can given where they are.

“Beautiful, just as I knew you would be,” Phil’s voice is like treacle and Clint can’t help the small whimper that escapes him when he hears it.  It’s his favourite tone because it means that he’s pleased Phil and done well.  He turns his head so that he can take the kiss that he knows Phil is going to give him and mentally high fives himself when he hears Steve cough to cover up the small gasp he just made.

“I’d say that was our cue to leave boss,” Clint drawls and yeah, he knew he was right about what Phil has in mind when he sees the way he looks at Steve.

“Mmmm....,” Phil hums and Clint takes matters into his own hands and shoots a hand out to grab Steve’s wrist again.  The blond’s eyes fly down to where Clint has a hold of him before looking back up at Phil.  “Steve?  Would you care to join us upstairs on our floor?”

Clint doesn’t wait for Steve to answer, just slides out from under Phil’s arm and pulls Steve off towards the private elevator that Tony had installed for Avengers use only.  Phil chuckles fondly at what a brat Clint can be and at how wide Steve’s eyes have gone.  He ignores the murmurs from bystanders as he follows his Sub and Steve into the elevator and JARVIS silently closes the doors and whisks them upwards towards the top of the Tower where the Avengers have their floors.  Clint doesn’t let go of Steve’s wrist for the entire trip up and gives the super solider a grin when he tangles his fingers with Clint’s.  Those blues eyes turn to Phil who just nods and Steve relaxes a little.  When the elevator doors open onto Phil and Clint’s floor, the archer tugs Steve into the living room and off towards the door of the bedroom.

“Clint.....,” Steve starts to say and pulls back against the Sub’s hand. 

“It’s OK Steve,” Phil says from behind him and Steve lets himself be dragged into the bedroom.  He’s been in here before, on nights when JARVIS has alerted him to Clint having nightmares and rushed into the room to stop the archer from thrashing and crying out.  But now that Phil is back, he feels as though he’s an intruder trespassing on something secret and intimate.  “Clint you brat, on the bed.”

“You love it boss,” Clint grins and throws himself onto the bed still fully clothed and lies back against the pillows with his hands behind his head.  Phil just shakes his head and takes off his suit jacket to hang it over the back of a chair by the dresser.

“So help me, I do,” Phil admits and starts to roll up his sleeves.  “Mostly because I get to punish you for it.”

Clint whimpers and Steve doesn’t know what to do as Phil gets a knee on the bed and leans down to give his Sub the kiss he’s kissing for, a hand fisted in the front of his Dom’s shirt.  He can’t stop staring at how perfect they are together.  They’re two halves of the same whole and Steve feels as though he shouldn’t be looking, even though he can’t stop himself.  Clint is beautiful, Steve has always thought so, right from the moment he first met him.  His body is perfectly honed, every muscle the product of a lifetime of drawing bowstrings and fighting to stay alive.  What makes him more beautiful though are all the scars that pepper his body.  Each one is a story and a testament to what a survivor Clint is. 

Phil is beautiful in a different way Steve thinks.  Just as much a survivor as Clint but with a quiet authority that doesn’t just come from being a dominant.  Steve suspects that Phil has always been that way and it has served him well at S.H.I.E.L.D, how he can somehow exude blandness whilst underneath being every inch the solider and killer that Steve knows him to be.  He’s heard the stories about Phil from people at S.H.I.E.L.D, heard how he took out a couple of armed robbers with a bag of flour along with many other stories just like it.  And Steve can believe them all as he looks at the muscles shift under Phil’s dress shirt while he leans over to kiss Clint.

The pair paint quite the picture and Steve _wants_ , both of them.  He knows that he probably should want another Dom but there’s something about Phil that Steve just _wants._ But he’s pretty sure that that isn’t what Phil had in mind when he invited him upstairs with himself and Clint.

“You OK Steve?” Clint asks when Phil finally pulls away to straighten up.

“Fine,” Steve answers and he hopes that it doesn’t sound as terse as he thinks it does.  “Just going freshen up, if that’s OK?”

“Of course it is,” Phil smiles and Steve disappears into the adjoining bathroom, quietly closing the door behind him.  He leans against it briefly before pushing up and crossing to the sink.  He shucks his suit jacket and hangs it a hook on the back of the floor.  Running the cold tap, he splashes some water on his face and wonders what the hell he’s going to do. 

He wants this so badly now that he’s almost shaking.  But he doesn’t want to come in between Clint and Phil, no matter how much both of them seem to be saying they want it.  How can Phil want Steve to join them?  He’s a Dom for goodness sake; he shouldn’t want to see another Dom with his Sub.  But so help him, Steve wants them both.  He realises that he’s probably taking longer than is necessary so dries off his face, takes a deep breath and opens the door, fully expecting Phil to have changed his mind and to tell him to leave.

Steve stutters to a halt as he exits the bathroom when he takes in the sight before him.  Phil is curled protectively around Clint, finally back where he belongs with his bonded.  It makes Steve’s heart feel heavy and lifeless in his chest as he thinks back to when he used to do the same with Bucky.  Even before the serum, he would make himself as large as he could so that he could be big spoon, fiercely protective of his sub who was twice his size and more than capable of taking care of himself.

His Bucky.  His beautiful Sub.

The ache inside him is more painful than anything he’d endured so far.  It eats away at him, consumes him.  When Clint had come to him all those months ago, he hadn’t been sure that he could give Clint what he wanted.  Yes, he could give the archer what he needed but what he _wanted_ was his Dom, his bonded.  Steve had done what he could at first, given Clint the comfort and protectiveness that he needed.  It had surprised Steve just how easy it was to give that to Clint when his own pain was still so raw.  But then, the archer reminded him of Bucky with his smart mouth and cheeky grins.  It had made his longing for Bucky worse but it had also been a comfort, for both of them.

Now though, Clint had his Dom back and Steve knew what was coming.  He knew that tonight was just that: one night and tomorrow he would be alone again.  He hoped that he would still be able to hold Clint sometimes but he doubts that Phil will be OK with that.  No Dom is OK with that apart from Tony. But then Tony is...... Well, Tony is Tony. 

“Steve?” Phil’s voice is low but still snaps Steve out his sad thoughts.  “Everything OK?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” He reaches a hand up to rub awkwardly at the back of his neck.  “I.... Look, I had a great time dancing with Clint tonight but I’m....I’m just gonna go...”  He turns to leave, shoulders heavy as he starts to make the few strides to the door.

“Wait,” Phil’s voice is firmer than before and despite Steve’s status as an Alpha Dom be stops and turns.  “Steve, I can see how much you care for Clint,” Phil says, determination in his voice as he sits up.  “I’m not going to stop whatever it is you two have.  We’ll have to talk about it but I think we can make it work.”

“Sir?” Clint says in small, disbelieving voice, his eyes wide with what Phil can see is fear of rejection and is absolutely horrified that his beautiful Sub could think that he would ever, **_ever_** send him away.

“I love you Clint, you know that.  Baby boy, you’re my bonded, there aren’t any words for how much I love you” Phil continues, pulling Clint against him and burying his face in his Sub’s unruly blond locks.  “I would never leave you, my beautiful boy.  I think that dying and coming back to life kind of proves that.”

Steve huffs a laughs at that, some of the tension falling away.  But he’s still confused.  Clint belongs to Phil, there’s no way that there’s room for Steve too.  Sure, everyone has heard the stories about Trinity Bonds but no-one ever thought that they actually existed.  And especially not with two Doms and a Sub.  The stories are always about a Dom who has two Subs.   Saying that, he’s only been in Phil’s company for a few hours but he already feels more comfortable with the man than most other people since he’s come out of the ice. 

There’s an easiness and simplicity to Phil that Steve appreciates and one that surprisingly the agent shares with Thor.  Both of them so different in so many ways yet both so matter of fact and straight forward.  Steve isn’t sure if it’s because Phil is a military man or if that’s just how he is but he hopes that he’ll get to find out.  Even if he can’t have what Phil seems to be promising, he’s pretty sure that the two of them will be very firm friends.

“I can see how much Steve means to you,” Phil carries on, running his fingers through Clint’s hair in reassurance whilst he looks into the hopeful blue of Steve’s eyes.  “And I can certainly see how much you mean to Steve.  It’s obvious that you both need each other and I won’t be the one that puts a stop to that.”

“But...,” Clint starts, craning his neck back to look up at Phil.

“No buts,” Phil puts some sternness into his voice and Clint watches his Dom’s pupils slowly swallow that blue-grey of his eyes.  “And you clearly have no idea what it’s like for me to watch the two of you together.  You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen Clint, I’ve told you that.  But watching you with Steve?  That’s..... That’s something else entirely.

“Phil,” Steve’s Alpha voice brooks no argument from the other two and they both turn to face their Captain.  “Do you even know what you’re offering?”

“Do I strike you as the kind of person that would offer something like this if I wasn’t sure?” Phil puts some steel into his own tone and Clint shivers, both with fear and arousal.  He doesn’t think that Steve and Phil would choose _now_ to try and assert their dominance over each other but he’s not sure.  He’s been around too many unpredictable Dom’s in his life and his eyes flit to the bedroom door, just to make sure that the exit is clear.

“No,” Steve says simply, shoulders sagging a little, dropping his gaze from Phil’s to the floor and dragging a hand over his face. 

“Steve, don’t think that I don’t want you,” Phil drops his voice to almost a purr.  “Believe me; I spent most of my teenage years wanting you.  I had to hide it because Dom’s aren’t supposed to want other Doms.  But how could I not want you?  Have you looked in a mirror lately?”

Steve bristles slightly at the last comment because since Project Rebirth, there hasn’t exactly been a shortage of people that have wanted him purely because of what he looks like.  At first he’d been flattered if completely unsure of what to make of it.  And even now, he’s still not entirely used to being the peak of human perfection.  Inside, he’s still just that skinny kid from Brooklyn who got picked on for being an Alpha Dom in a Sub’s body.

“But it’s not just that,” Phil smiles softly and Clint relaxes back against his Dom with a secret smile directed at Steve.  “You’re a good man Steve, always have been.  You’re a fighter, especially when it comes to something you truly believe in.  Serum enhanced body or not, you’ll always be that tough kid from Brooklyn who stood up for what he believed in back then and still does today.  If you haven’t figured it out by now, that’s something that I find unbelievably attractive.”

“It’s true Cap,” Clint grins from his spot against Phil’s shoulder.  “He’s got a thing for underdogs.”

Steve can’t help smiling back when he sees Clint’s grin and he knows that it’s the truth.  Clint has been through so much in his life but he’s still here because he fought tooth and nail for it.  He’s a survivor of so much and Phil’s eyes as he looks down at his Sub say more than there are words for. 

“My sole purpose on this planet is to make my Sub happy,” Phil says, tearing his eyes away from Clint to look at Steve again, suddenly tentative as he watches the blond who is still standing half way to the door.  “And part of what makes him happy is you, Steve.  We’ll have to talk about it but do you think it’s something you’re at least willing to try?”

“But how would it work? I’m not exactly your average Dom,” Steve sighs but takes a small step towards the bed which Clint takes as a small victory.

“No, you’re not.  But in the short time that I’ve had the pleasure of knowing you, I’ve never seen you use your Alpha status anywhere but out in the field,” Phil replies and Clint can see him thinking.  “Before Project Rebirth, no-one believed that you could be an Alpha and you haven’t been in your new body long enough to truly realise the potential of your status.  And I’m not ashamed to admit that the prospect of helping you explore that potential gives me a hard on that I could hammer nails with.”

Clint nearly chokes on his tongue he laughs so hard and Steve’s shocked face doesn’t help.  But the shock soon gives way to a smile which then becomes a grin until he can’t help joining in with Clint’s laughter.

“See Cap?” Clint gasps when he manages to draw breath.  “You’re not the only Dom in the room who isn’t A-typical.”

“Steve,” Phil sucks in a breath and reaches out a hand towards Steve who still hasn’t made it back over to the bed yet.  “Come here.”

It’s a risky command to aim at dominant that rates higher than he does on the scale but Phil doesn’t give a fuck.  Steve looks both scared and hopeful and he wants the Alpha to say yes.  He’s actually shocked at just how much he wants Steve in his bed with himself and Clint, Alpha status or not.  The man is not only beautiful to look at but he’s the sort of man that Phil has tried his entire life to be.  Strong, dependant and a fierce believer in what’s right.  He doesn’t know how it will work or even if it can work at all, but he’s damn well not going to give up on even fucking trying.

To everyone’s surprise, including Steve’s, he goes to Phil.  No hesitation, he just crosses the last few steps to the bed, climbs on and settles next to Phil cross legged.  His knee brushes against the outside of Phil’s thigh and that gets a smile. 

“If you’re sure,” Steve begins, his voice comically small for an Alpha Dom.  “Then.... yes please.”

Phil can’t help lunging forward to grab Steve by the back of the neck and pull him in for a searing kiss.  Steve whimpers and Phil just deepens the kiss, putting everything he has into it to try and show Steve just how much he wants this, wants him.  When he has to pull back for air, Steve is looking at him with wild eyes and a smile on his kiss swollen lips.

“I am the luckiest fucking Sub in the world right now,” Clint says, his voice like gravel and his Doms turn to look at him.

His _Doms._

**_Plural._ **

 

He doesn’t get much more of a chance to think on that because there are suddenly _two_ pairs of hands pushing him backwards and _two_ sets of lips on his body. 

Two is good, Clint thinks to himself, letting his eyes slide shut as Steve and Phil start to take him apart.  He thinks about how unbelievably good it is when it’s just himself and Phil, and about how amazing it is when he adds Steve to the equation as well. 

Yeah, two is pretty fucking awesome.

But sometimes three can be better.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know what this became. It was only supposed to be 2k max. It became a monster.
> 
> I just really love these 3 together ok?


End file.
